Could global nationalism drive some countries into the arms of China?

U.S. President Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping arrive at a state dinner at the Great Hall of the People on November 9, 2017 in Beijing, China. (Thomas Peter - Pool/Getty Images)

COLOGNE, Germany – The current year will be one that could see the globe’s many flash points come to a head, either through peaceful resolution or all-out conflict, according to a new report by the organizers of this month’s Munich Security Conference.

Meant as a scene-setter for the Feb. 16-18 event, the document draws the picture of a perfect storm of rising nationalism worldwide and a Washington seen as increasingly unreliable to uphold world order.

At the same time, potentially moderating countries like Canada, Germany, France or Japan lack the capabilities and will to fill the void, according to the report, which draws heavily from recent think thank studies worldwide.

In addition, the potential reversals of critical arms-control agreements and nonproliferation pacts, including the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, threaten the global security environment, the authors write.

While countries like Russia and Iran have hailed the advent of what they consider a post-Western international order, undecided states looking for new alliances may not find either regime a suitable friend in the long term, opening the door for China’s further rise.

And despite China’s proclamations of coming in peace, its military build-up and the construction of bases in the disputed South China Sea continues to worry Western analysts.

Environmental insecurity also contributes to an overheated climate in which even the smallest mistake or misunderstanding could trigger war, according to analysts.

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“In the end, few experts doubt the long-term effects a changing climate will have in international security,” the report states.

Senior leaders from around the world will meet in Munich this month for what has become a key gathering on the international-security conference circuit. Defense News will cover the event from the Bavarian capital.

Sebastian Sprenger is associate editor for Europe at Defense News, reporting on the state of the defense market in the region, and on U.S.-Europe cooperation and multi-national investments in defense and global security. Previously he served as managing editor for Defense News. He is based in Cologne, Germany.